Review: The Darkness - The Halls, Wolverhampton (Saturday, March 15, 2025)

The release of debut studio album Permission to Land in 2003 was supposed to launch the band into superstardom and they appeared on course for that when they won three Brit awards in 2004.

But a rollercoaster ride since saw them never quite reach those heights and they are to release their latest album Dreams on Toast on independent label Cooking Vinyl at the end of this month - the fourth consecutive record they have put out like this.

With this latest release, though, is coming a whole new appreciation for The Darkness and enigmatic frontman Justin Hawkins, with the hips of Mick Jagger and a legendary falsetto that hits impossibly high notes.

They stopped in at The Halls in Wolverhampton for a sold-out Saturday night of rock and roll, blasting the roof off the place with hits such as I Believe in a Thing Called Love and Love Is Only a Feeling.

While those hits from that 22-year-old debut album got the biggest reactions of the night, this is no nostalgia act.

Hawkins is a man comfortable in his own skin - as he proved by stripping his top half off not once, but twice - and who doesn't try to hide the scars of all those ups and downs from the past two decades.

And it is that authenticity - as well as the ability to crack a joke and smile through the whole night like a man thrilled to be doing what he loves - that connects him to his people.

'His people' are not just 30 and 40-somethings trying to relive their teens and early 20s - although there were a fair few of them, including this writer - but a whole new generation of younger fans turning away from the charts and back into the arms of rock and roll.

It is those usual chart successes who The Darkness will go head-to-head with at the end of this month, with Ariana Grande and Mumford & Sons having releases in the same week. Hawkins' thoughts on both those acts, though not printable, are exactly what you would expect...

To help promote Dreams on Toast, the band were selling Darkness-emblazoned 'stress toast' on the merchandise stand - almost certainly the first act ever to do so.

Along with the music, like any good rock show, there is also 'the show' - neon sign emblazoned across the top and various videos giving the feel of a stadium band.

And whether Hawkins is standing on his head clapping his feet, taking a ride on someone's shoulders through the crowd while playing guitar, or accepting the gifts of flowers thrown on to the stage like an operatic great, he has a full arsenal of treats and tricks - along with a few others.

Hawkins is excellent with guitar in hand, but really comes into his own when it is just the microphone as he leaps and struts around the place like he is having the time of his life.

He was also humbled to be supported by legendary rock band Ash, who warmed up the crowd by rattling through their long list of hits and memorable guitar riffs.

Ash are a three piece who still make one hell of a noise - 31 years on from when they played the Civic Hall as their 'first big concert', as lead singer Tim Wheeler called it.

Even if you couldn't recall some of the names of their songs, the riffs of the likes of Shining Light and Goldfinger are burned into the minds of rock fans who grew up through the Northern Irish band's heyday that brought them two number one albums.

They finished their hitlist with Girl From Mars and Burn Baby Burn to a rapturous reception, setting the stage perfectly for The Darkness to blow everyone away.

The Darkness continue their UK tour through to March 29, closing at Wembley Arena in London - limited availability remains for tickets here.

Pre-order the new album Dreams on Toast, out March 28, here.